Today’s Share 2013/05/08

Living organisms are open thermodynamic systems whose functional structure has developed and been kinetically frozen during the historical process of biological evolution. A thermodynamics of both nonequilibrium and complex systems is needed for their description. In this book, the foundations of such a thermodynamics are presented. Biological processes at the cellular level are considered as coupled chemical reactions and transport processes across internal and the cytoplasmic membrane.

“Garbage is gold,” according to one expert quoted in this standout survey of what happens to what we throw away and how those decisions affect the globe. As in other titles in the Hot Topics series, this overview offers a balance of viewpoints in its clear comparison of traditional methods of waste management with more sustainable technologies, such as recycling and new landfill techniques.